Chapter 221
* * *
Coming to give a reply to the letter asking for a kiss.
lody looked at him again and asked in a tense voice.
“Here…?”
Judging by his reaction alone, it seed he knew how stupid that question was. She saw him putting strength on his lips as if holding back laughter.
“D-don’t laugh! I’m asking seriously…!”
“I’m sorry, I just thought it was a very lody-like question.”
He laughed outright with chuckling sounds, then readily nodded his head and answered.
“Yes, I’m planning to do it here.”
“In the middle of the street?! Moreover.”
lody glanced around. The nobles from the capital were still near them.
“Rumors… will spread.”
“What rumors?”
“Well, that you, Young Master…”
As lody’s voice trailed off, he pulled down the hood she was wearing, saying, “I can’t hear well.”
The hair curled up inside the hood fell down with a rustle.
“…!”
“Keep telling , what rumors you’re worried about.”
He had already returned to his usual relaxed self. Even though he had been fretting just a mont ago, trying to read lody’s mood.
“…You really always do as you please.”
At her resentnt, giving up on answering, he smiled.
“I know.”
After that, he slowly untied the knot of the mask fixed on his head with one arm.
“So I’ll just do one more thing like that.”
He shook his head for a mont after completely removing the mask.
“I wanted Miss lody to keep the order, but it seems difficult to do that now.”
“…That.”
“As you said, if I slowly, very leisurely take my ti.”
He tilted his head slightly and smiled softly.
“I think I’ll really go crazy now.”
“…Young Master.”
“So Miss lody, if I…”
He approached her, tilting his head, and stopped talking for a mont in front of lody’s lips.
“…Can I act a little hasty?”
Even while saying he would be hasty, his tone in asking was very gentle and slow. To the point where it was agonizing to wait for the end of that question.
lody slightly moved her lips to answer him.
But no matter what, words that could convey her current feelings didn’t co to mind.
“…”
She closed her lips again and fixed her clumsily linked hands.
Just like on that day long ago when painful rain had fallen between them. Perhaps she pulled him more stubbornly than that day. Until the tips of her fingers putting strength turned white.
He whispered softly, thank you.
No, to be honest, she didn’t hear the voice saying that at all. It was just lody’s arbitrary imagination of the words rustling like breath on her lips.
He also conveyed other words like that, brushing the tip of his lips.
It was a confession full of only affection.
How could words that couldn’t even be voiced be so clear?
lody slowly closed her eyes with her lips pressed against his.
Soon his fingers sank into her hair. Following the firmly supporting touch, lody raised her chin.
At that mont, all her breath was taken away by the deeply approaching kiss.
Even at the moan that ca out from surprise, Claude never backed away even a little. No, he rather drove her even more persistently.
Just then, a trendous boom was heard from afar.
lody was startled and quickly removed her lips, only then realizing it was fireworks commorating the festival.
White smoke rising high above the city wall in the distance could be seen.
Tourists filling the large town shouted cheers all at once, and as if responding to it, more fireworks exploded.
Now people were randomly taking off their masks and starting to share blessings with those close to them.
“Shall I bless you too, Young Master?”
lody asked, looking up at Claude, but unfortunately, fireworks went off again at that mont.
“Pardon?”
“Bless you, bless you!”
She repeated the sa words while slightly raising her tiptoes, but perhaps due to the aftermath of the fireworks and the cheers of the people around, it wasn’t properly conveyed.
“I said I’ll bless you!”
“…What?”
Feeling a bit heated, lody took off the mask covering her face and shouted again.
“I’ll kiss you!”
“Ah.”
He nodded as if he finally understood.
“…You pretended not to understand on purpose, right?”
“Who knows.”
Claude smiled beautifully enough to be annoying and bent his waist again.
As if waiting, saying, ‘Go ahead and kiss ,’ lody only gave a clumsy kiss, barely pressing the tip of her lips and pulling away.
“I’m not good at it either, so don’t laugh.”
Claude, who slowly opened his eyes, didn’t laugh as lody hoped, but he had a sowhat serious expression.
“No. How should I say…”
After pondering for a long ti, he dropped his head and mumbled self-deprecatingly.
“It feels too good. To the point where it’s difficult to explain…”
Claude shifted his gaze elsewhere for a mont.
She didn’t know what was so good about a kiss that barely touched the tip of the lips, but now his ears were completely red.
“…Then shall we do more?”
At lody’s suggestion, he made a groan and eventually pulled lody’s back and waist to completely embrace her with his arms.
“Let’s stop, there will be quite a lot of days in the future when Miss lody will tornt .”
When he bowed his head and whispered, lody’s eyes t exactly with Hatfield’s standing very close by.
“…!”
The startled Hatfield scread unintentionally, and at the sa ti, the attention of the capital’s nobles was drawn to Claude and lody.
“Y-Young Master! We’ve been caught! Completely caught!”
Even though lody was flailing her arms, not knowing what to do, he didn’t let go of her.
“It’s good. I hope the story of
opening my body and heart to your skill spreads everywhere.”
“Don’t lie. You’re really an, Young Master. I really hate you!”
“…I especially hope Christian Carver knows.”
“No one should know such a thing!”
lody quickly pushed him away with both arms and looked at Hatfield with pleading eyes, clasping her hands together.
It was a request to please not spread this matter widely.
Fortunately, it seed lody’s heart was conveyed, and Hatfield quickly nodded with a bright smile.
However.
…Miss Hatfield, who completely misunderstood lody’s request, began promoting them beautifully as “a love that transcends the master-servant relationship between families, like a 221-chapter novel.”
It was three weeks from this day that lody would hear the rumor.
By the ti Hatfield had packaged their relationship so prettily, there was no one left questioning Baldwin and Higgins dating.
Even the people at the mansion.
Anyway, that was sothing that would happen in three weeks, so on the last night of the festival, lody had the best ti with Claude without knowing anything.
It was also their long-delayed official first date.
* * *
Claude, lody, and Loretta stayed in Kristonson for two more weeks and set off for the capital.
Claude continued his reckless consumption of buying anything in different materials and colors if lody or Loretta needed it, even on this return shopping trip.
But in the end, he easily won a contract to expand the distribution channels of tal products made in the duchy, so it didn’t end up being a shopping trip where he only suffered losses.
Before they knew it, the carriage passed through the city gate of the capital.
lody was stuck to the window, appreciating the bustling sight of the capital she hadn’t seen in a long ti. Sophisticated people, stores selling new and interesting things.
‘It’s really amazing.’
When she first saw this street, it only felt unfamiliar, but now she felt a familiar comfort.
The change brought by ti wasn’t just that.
In the past, lody didn’t gain any emotion from the word ‘ho’.
No, the word ‘ho’ only hurt her and made her lose emotions one by one.
She thought the heart that had beco so empty would never be filled again.
“lody, I can see the mansion!”
Loretta, who was next to her, hugged lody’s arm as if she couldn’t hold back.
This little child was the eternally first person who placed love in lody’s heart.
“Loretta, stay still. If you fall over in the carriage, you’ll get badly hurt. Miss lody, don’t lean your head too far out the window either. It makes
anxious.”
lody sat back a little from the window and smiled wryly at him.
He was also soone who had given emotions to lody.
It’s just that this man… had a talent for arbitrarily shaking the emotions that filled her.
lody sotis buried her face in her palms and despaired, wondering, “Why is that face my type?”
Of course, it wasn’t just his face she liked, but anyway, that man was surely a demon.
Soon the carriage got closer to the mansion.
Passing through the large iron gate the gatekeeper had opened in advance and the garden densely packed with tall trees, the completely renovated appearance of the mansion ca into full view.
As they approached the front door, the speed gradually decreased.
Even though Claude had said a mont ago not to act dangerously, Loretta passed over lody’s lap and stuck her face out the window.
“Looks like we arrived last! Everyone’s here!”
Following her gaze out the window, the family mbers Loretta called “everyone” were waiting for them.
Not only the Higgins couple but also the Duke and his sons, all the way to Isaiah.
The carriage stopped in front of the entrance where they were waiting.
Isaiah opened the door, and Claude got out first and looked back at lody and Loretta.
But being a perfect gentleman, he didn’t make the mistake of offering his hand to the two ladies.
Holding hands, lody and Loretta relied on each other and cheerfully jumped out of the carriage.
The Duke ran over in surprise, scolding them for doing sothing dangerous, and the Higgins couple shouted “Our little lamb!” and hugged lody tightly.
anwhile, Loretta, who beca afraid of the Duke’s scolding, stretched her arms out to Isaiah Mullern and requested salvation, shouting “Save !”
Isaiah displayed his loyalty to his leader and imdiately picked up Loretta and started running into the mansion.
However, he was soon caught by the collar by Ronny and failed to prove his loyalty to his leader.
Jeremiah silently approached lody and held out his hand.
When lody absentmindedly grasped his hand, he shouted, “I’m asking for the recording papers!” with a beet-red face, adjusting his glasses several tis.
A little later, Ronny, still holding Isaiah’s collar, guided everyone to the dining room.
“Brother Ronny, did you prepare a banquet?”
At Loretta’s words as they entered the mansion, Ronny nodded as if it was obvious.
“I hope the first dish isn’t cake again?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
The two giggled together as they passed through the entrance. Now lody was also about to follow the family into the mansion, but she felt soone lightly tugging on her fingertips from behind.
“…?”
The mont she turned around, wondering what was going on, Claude lightly kissed the corner of her lips and pulled away in an instant.
The surprised lody quickly checked her surroundings first.
“There’s no one.”
Claude smiled brightly and started entering the mansion ahead of her, brushing past her side.
Glaring at his back, lody felt sohow very wronged.
“…I really hate you, Young Master.”
At the words she spoke with a very sulky face, he stopped walking and turned around to look at lody.
“Do you really hate ?”
“I said so.”
“That’s a big problem.”
With a face that didn’t feel any sense of crisis, he shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand to lody.
“Co here, I’ll make you like
again.”
“You think I won’t be able to refuse if you say that?”
Even while speaking coyly, lody ended up holding his hand.
“…You’re really hateful, Young Master. It’ll probably be like this for life.”
“Miss lody is lovely. It will definitely be like that for life.”
Soon they also followed the family and arrived at the dining room, sitting in their usual seats.
Now there were no empty seats.
lody carefully looked around at the family mbers filling the table.
They all looked healthy and happy.
lody felt a miracle in this utmost everyday life.
As much as she had thought such a mont would never return.
“lody.”
As Loretta quietly called her, she turned to the side and saw her smiling brightly at lody.
“It’s fortunate we have the sa ho, right?”
“Yes, it was fortunate that the Duke was a pot of gold.”
They pressed their foreheads together and chuckled.
What young Loretta had said wasn’t wrong.
As long as lody and Loretta like each other and Duke Baldwin exists as a pot of gold, they will continue to live happily under the sa roof.
And in fact, that ans.
They will live together forever…
lody and Loretta actually shared eternity together.
Fin.
——
TL Note: The next chapters from here on will be the side stories.
Reviews
All reviews (0)